Changes

The history of water use and technologies to bring water to human societies is long, particularly in some of the world's most arid regions where human settled societies first began. Technologies of water also evolved as other technologies developed and social organization and states changed. While we often think of Roman aqueducts as a great marvel, which they were, other complex water technologies, just as complex, existed before.

==Early Canals==

The earliest water technologies are likely to have been simple ditches or cuts made to irrigate fields. In the Near East, irrigation likely began soon after agriculture began to be developed.<ref>For examples and discussions of early irrigation systems, see: Mashkour, Marjan, Andrew M. Bauer, Tony J. Wilkinson, Nicholas Kouchoukos, and Abbas Alizadeh. 2004. “Human-Environment Interactions on the Upper Khuzestan Plains, Southwest Iran. Recent Investigations.” ''Paléorient 30'' (1): 69–88. doi:10.3406/paleo.2004.4773.</ref> Most likely these types of irrigation canals would be too small or small in scale to leave any major archaeological remains. Evidence of terrace agriculture from the Neolithic, however, suggests that water captured from higher ground was beginning to be transferred to lower areas, including possibly using canals to move water (Figure 1). In China, similar Neolithic evidence has been found, showing that early villages had sometimes a relatively complex network of canals near village fields, where even field systems have been partially preserved. <ref>For an example of irrigation systems in Neolithic China, see: Hu, Linchao, Zhihong Chao, Min Gu, Fuchun Li, Lina Chen, Bending Liu, Xia Li, et al. 2013. “Evidence for a Neolithic Age Fire-Irrigation Paddy Cultivation System in the Lower Yangtze River Delta, China.” ''Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (1): 72–78. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2012.04.021.</ref>